A Long Cist Burial at Innerwick, Near Dunbar, East Lothian
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Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1997)7 12 , 601-607 lonA g cist buria Innerwickt la , near Dunbar, East Lothian Finlayson ReesL R W A *& * with contribution BrucClarkF M M C eey & s b ABSTRACT Excavation at Innerwick recorded a long cist containing the unaccompanied inhumation of an adolescent female dating mid-firstthe to millennium ThereAD. were indicationsno that this formed part oflargera cemetery. project The commissioned was Roadsthe by Directorate Scottishthe of Office Industry Department and was managed on its behalf by Historic Scotland. INTRODUCTION In March 1994, the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) carried out an archaeological assessment for the Roads Directorate of the Scottish Office Industry Department in advance of the improvement of a section of the Al, between the Blue Circle cement works and the Innerwick junction Easn i , t Lothian (illus archivn 1)A . e report detailin methode gth resultd an s f thiso s assessment (Mann 1994) is lodged with the National Monuments Record of Scotland (RCAHMS). This report describe significane on e sfinth w dt ne made durin assessmente gth . Toward south-wese sth t corne fiela f dro containin abandonee gth d Innerwick Free Church mansed an assessmene ,th t corridor passed sit e closeth (NGRo et 721T N : 9 7503) wher eBronza e Age short cist was discovered in 1939 (Stevenson 1940; illus 2). The skeletal remains in this had turne n accompanyina o dustt t d bu , g Beaker survived n recognitioI . e potentiath f o n l archaeological sensitivity of the adjacent area, a geophysical (resistivity) survey was undertaken vicinite inth thif yo s find-spo unsuccessfun a n ti l attemp locato t t e further cist r otheso r features of archaeological interest (illus 2). A series of trial trenches was then excavated in order to detect any features not located by the geophysical survey. It was when the first of these trenches was opened that a long cist was located (NGR: NT 7217 7502). Additional trenches excavated around this failed to locate any further burials (illus 2). EXCAVATION RESULTS THE CIST The cist measured 1.8 m in length by 0.6 m wide and was 0.35 m in depth (illus 3). It was aligned approximately east/west walle Th . s comprised upright side slabs, roughly shape measurind dan g Centre for Field Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, 12 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT 602 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997 Inner wick Free Church Inner wick Free Church ILLU S1 Location map. (BasedOrdnancee th n o SurveyCrown© p ma Copyright) REES & FINLAYSON: LONG CIST BURIAL AT INNERWICK I 603 approximate location of Bronz e ciseAg t (1940) INNERWICK FREE CHURCH , grid '50m ILLUS 2 locatione Plath lone f no th gf scisto , trial trenches geophysica,e parth f o t l survey griearlied dan r discoverf yo a short cist slabsd slabe en o ,Th length n seac. i frotw wer m m d hm3 1 ean measurin ,0. 0.7 o t y b 5 m m 6 g0. of varying thicknes werd localla san f eo y available flaky, yellow sandstone. slabe Somth f seo lining the grave had fractured in situ, presumably as a result of deep ploughing activity. The capston fractured ha ) e(s d int irregularlx osi y shaped pieces. Thes collapsed eha d ont surface oth e uppee th cise f o rth t filf whico l h comprise dfinea , dark red, sandy gravel. This fill seale loweda r deposi f silo t t which surrounde skeletae dth l remains fille sTh . containe organio dn c inclusions and were the subject of exploratory palynological analysis which proved to be inconclusive (Clarke, below). The floor of the cist was also formed by several roughly worked sandstone slabs. THE BURIAL skeletae Th l remains were poorly preserve incompleted dan north-wese th n .I cistte e parth th , f to collapsed, fractured capstone appear havo st e protecte bonee dth s from leachin rainwatery gb , bioturbation and other decompositional processes. A piece of the cranium remained in situ resting on the surface of the floor slabs, at the western end of the cist, and this indicated the supine 604 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997 UNEXCAVATED CIST EXCAVATED CIST A !2m - sands gravelsd an —. D c T T CIST PROFILES ILLU S3 Plan profiled san s ofthelongcist REES & FINEAYSON: EONG CIST BURIAE AT INNERWICK | 605 attitud skeletone th f eo . Several teeth were recovered fro file mlth surroundin craniume gth e Th . left arm, scapula and collar bone were complete and in situ: this arm extended along the northern edge of the cist. The lower half of the right arm had been displaced to the northern (ie left) side of the skeleton, indicating that at the time of burial, the arms may have been crossed. In addition, several phalanges were found scattered throughou lumbae fille Th th t. r vertebra sacrud ean m wer lefe th te s pelvicomplet wa situ n i s c a d bone elowean e Th . r limbs were entirely absena s a t resul post-depositionaf to l decay. RADIOCARBON DATE A bone sample, weighing 300 g, was submitted to the Scottish Universities Research Reactor Centre (SURRC r radiocarbo)fo n analysis e radiocarboTh . n age, below quotes i , convenn di - tiona calibratee l yearTh . srangeBP e dag s were determine SURRy db C usin Universite gth f yo Washington, Quaternary Isotope Laboratory, Radiocarbon Dating Program (1987) 20-yeae .Th r atmospheric calibration curve is used throughout and the calendar age ranges, obtained from the intercepts (Method A), are expressed at both the one- and two-sigma levels of confidence. The following determination was received. P B La o rf!3C(%obN ) Calibrate Rangee dAg s GU-4067 1510 7 0+ -25.5 AD 440-623 (1 sigma); AD 400-660 (2 sigma) THE HUMAN BONES M F Bruce Unfortunately skeletoe th , bots nhwa very incomplet pooa n i r d statean preservation f eo , severely limiting the information that could be obtained from the bones. The bones from the cist were thos slendea f eo r young adul tdetermines femalewa x Se . d primarily fro pelvie mth c features, reinforced by the general gracility of the skeleton. Age was assessed from general skeletal degenerative changes, from dental attritio frod stage nan m th closurf eo craniae th f eo l sutures. Within Brothwell's (1981) scheme individuae th , t s agea e wa lyeard 5 ag 2 betwee f d so an 7 1 n death. A central Schmorl's node was noted on the superior surface of the first lumbar vertebra. Schmorl's nodes are generally thought to be caused by stress on the spine during adolescence or early adulthood, such as that caused by heavy lifting. These nodes represent herniations of invertebral disc material into the bone of the vertebral bodies and may be asymptomatic in the living. Archaeologically, Schmorl's nodes tend to be more common in men than in women although there are substantial differences both temporally and geographically (eg Saluja 1986), probably reflecting social difference e sexuath d l an sdivisio f labourno . Slight erosioe th f no anterior margin fourte th fift d f so hhan vertebral bodie noteds swa . Dental remains Sieving of all of the grave fill was carried out, allowing for the retrieval of the surviving dental material. Eight enamel shells were recovered whicf o o htw , included remnant rootse th f s.o There were no caries on these crowns, although this does not preclude caries at the neck of the tooth which can be accurately assessed only when the root is also present. There was no evidence of the 606 [ SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997 horizontal grooves known as enamel hypoplasia which may indicate disturbance during the growt teete th hf h o and extensiony ,b , systemic illnes malnutritionr so . Cause of death Cause of death could not be determined in the present case. POLLEN ANALYSIS ClarkM C e In order to test for the presence of 'ritual floral tributes' (cf Tipping 1994), a sampling strategy was adopted which involved taking six samples within the north-west corner of the cist, at vertical intervals of 0.1 m. In addition, nine samples were taken from various points across the floor of the cist in order to obtain as wide a coverage as possible. pollee poorls Th nwa y preserved, with both chemica mechanicad an l l degradation mucn hi evidence. Although the preservation of the fungal palynomorphs is superior to that of the pollen, assemblagee th s were homogeneous, suggesting that therpalynologicao n s ei l distinction between material collected fro cise mth t floothad an rt taken fro verticae mth l section. This favoure th s hypothesis that all of the material may be of secondary deposition and primary deposits on the cis t representet floono e ar r havr do e been dilute latey db r deposits. DISCUSSION Though there is no evidence of Christian burial from an early period in this area, the excavated long cist does meet some criteri identificatioe th r afo Earln a f nyo Christian burial orientates i t :i d east/wes gravo n d e an goodt s were present. Group lonf so g cist beine sar g found with increasing regularity in south-east Scotland, both north and south of the Firth of Forth (see Dalland 1992 Proudfood an t 199 r recen6fo t discussions) oftee ar nd presumean , represeno dt Christiaa t n burial rite. Recent excavation d resultanan s t radiocarbon dates have demonstrate da closel y comparable rang datef eo lonr sfo g cist cemeterie Catstane th t sa e (Cowie 1978) Halloe ,th w Hill (Proudfoot 1996), Four Winds (Dalland 1992 Avonmild )an l Road (Dalland 1993).